Written by The Playstation 3 has been starved for a hit and I feel that Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction is just what it needs. I haven’t played the series before, but if the earlier games in the series have been anywhere near this good, no wonder they’re popular.
I was initially bewildered by the controls, which took some learning to get into. A couple of levels in, I was happily blasting away. However, this was done in a setting so vividly realised, at times I forgot I was playing a game. The game is entirely surreal, with very videogamey graphics, but it all just breathes life. The characters are brilliant, the backdrops vibrant. The use of color is something I have never seen before. It’s very smooth and never drops a frame, which is hard to understand with the amount of stuff that’s going on.
The writing is funny, if nothing special. I do hope they don’t get a plot in the way of generic mayhem. The physical and visual gags tend to be very funny – this is obviously a developer who knows its stuff and has harnessed the next-gen horsepower to bring their vision to life.
I am not a fan of platform games, but this recipe just works. Granted, I’m only three levels in and there’s no telling how it all holds together over its length, but I’m interested to find out.
In many ways, Ratchet & Clank feel like the Playstation posterboys. I don’t think this game could be on the Xbox – there is something characterically Playstation about it, reminding me of the Playstation brand I thought was already lost with Sony’s next-gen stumbling.
If the quality doesn’t drop a lot after the beginning stages, this is a must-have if you have a PS3. I thought I would have to add an “if you’re into platforming” caveat, but really it doesn’t feel like that. If you’re living in Europe, I think it’s out today. Americans have been playing this for some weeks now, I think – I’m a little surprised there hasn’t been more talk about it in the forums I frequent – because really, this is very high quality, no ifs or buts.
GOG.com
It’s actually been out for a few weeks here in the UK but with so many games to play I haven’t picked it up. I must have a rummage around upstairs and see if there is anything left I could trade in.
Assassins Creed was supposed to arrive yesterday and still isn’t with me :(
I also thought I’d have Assassin’s Creed by now, but no sight of it yet. Penny Arcade’s Gabe has an interesting take on its surprisingly low review scores: http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/11/14#1195073220
Yes, I’ve read that article and it has put back some of the excitement I had lost after reading a few of the less enthusiastic reviews.